Appeal No. 2005-2439
Application No. 09/754,378
coupons or coupon packages, it does not support downloading the
unique identifier with the downloading of the incentive data
management software module [answer, page 16]. Appellants respond
by citing additional portions of the specification to support the
invention of claim 91 [reply brief, page 3].
We agree with appellants that the specification supports
the downloading of the unique identifier as part of the
downloading of the incentive data management software module.
The alternative embodiment described at the bottom of page 32
clearly discloses that the downloaded coupon management routines
are encoded with a unique user identification number. This
disclosure supports the recitation of claim 91.
Therefore, we do not sustain the examiner’s rejection of
claims 82 and 91 for the reasons discussed above.
We now consider the rejection of claims 76-112 under 35
U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over the teachings of Von
Kohorn and Saigh. In rejecting claims under 35 U.S.C. § 103, it
is incumbent upon the examiner to establish a factual basis to
support the legal conclusion of obviousness. See In re Fine, 837
F.2d 1071, 1073, 5 USPQ2d 1596, 1598 (Fed. Cir. 1988). In so
doing, the examiner is expected to make the factual
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